Inside Canberra is the Federal Press Galleries’ longest running political publication. Here is a summary of the latest edition of Inside Canberra, which was published on May 29. To read the full version subscribe to the Inside Canberra newsletter. You will also receive access to back copies and additional video content inside of our membership site.
This Week in Parliament
Nationals MP George Christensen will move a motion in support of a coal-fired power station for north Queensland (photo by Rob Keating)
Senate Estimates
Representatives from the Department of Education will front estimates on Wednesday and Thursday to explain the operation of Gonski 2.0. Other hearings during the week include defence, foreign affairs and trade, health and aged care, social security and housing and homelessness.
House of Representatives
Andrew Wilkie will introduce a private members bill that provides that social security debts should be waived for victims of domestic violence.
This week Nationals MP George Christensen will move a motion in support of a coal-fired power station for north Queensland.
Angus Taylor on the Budget
Angus Taylor said the budget must be returned to balance by 2020-21 (Photo by Rob Keating)
This is the first time that a conservative member of the government has acknowledged that it has to find further spending cuts so that the budget can be brought back to surplus while, at the same time, acknowledging that the approach adopted by the Abbott government was an exercise in futility.
“Everything is easy in hindsight, perhaps we should have been doing more of that from 2013,’’ he said, referring to when the coalition came to power under Tony Abbott.
Australia Won’t Push President Trump on Climate
Josh Frydenberg said that Australia would not put any pressure on the President over the Paris Agreement (Photo by Rob Keating)
Yesterday Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said that Australia would not put any pressure on the President over the Paris Agreement even though the government had every intention of meeting its commitments.
‘’What the United States does in relation to its domestic climate change policy is a matter for the Trump administration. All I can say is that we in Australia have committed to a 26-28 per cent reduction in our emissions by 2030, ‘’ he said. ‘’We are on target to meet that and we’ll continue to take all the domestic measurer necessary to stay true to the Paris agreement.
Budget Estimates
The Senate is again not sitting this week due to further Budget Estimates for 2017-18.
The estimates are divided into to Groups A and B. Group A met last week which we wrote about in last Monday’s edition of Inside Canberra. Group B is meeting this week and that information is listed. Meeting times are determined by each Committee but are approximately 9.00am – 11.00pm and run from Monday 29th of May to Thursday 1 June.
Farewell lunch for the Georgian Ambassador
A farewell lunch has been held for HE Vladimer Konstantinidi, Georgian Ambassador hosted by Kevin Magee Assistant Secretary for Northern Southern & Eastern Europe Division of DFAT with HE Ambassadors of Belarus, Serbia and Slovakia at DFAT in Canberra.
AMA National Conference
The Australian Medical Association National Conference was held in Melbourne over the weekend. The conference was addressed by the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday. He said “Our health system is the envy of the world. Our skilled doctors, our nurses, all your allied health professionals work tirelessly to give the best possible care and your government thanks you for that”.
Senator John McCain visits Parliament House
The Republican candidate for the 2008 Presidential election, John McCain, today visited Parliament House. He met with the Foreign Minister before attending question time in the House of Representatives. “As a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years, he selflessly — despite torture and cruelty — refused to be transferred back to the United States in advance of his colleagues,” The Prime Minister said in Parliament. “True leadership. True grit. True courage.”
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop meets with Senator John McCain who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services in the United States of America
Senator McCain told Foreign Minister Bishop, “We’re certainly in very interesting times.” (Photo by Rob Keating)
Senator John McCain gives the thumbs up in reaction to Malcolm Turnbull’s comment about the US rugby team reclaiming its status as rugby world champions.
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